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Germany: "Catholic Church must reposition itself"

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The way in which homosexuality is dealt with in the Catholic Church continues to cause controversy. Bishop Heinrich Timmerevers now wants to expand pastoral care for homosexuals and reduce prejudice in his diocese of Dresden-Meißen.

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Hong Kong: Lead on recognising same-sex unions must start with government not courts, lawyers and activists say

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Burden should not be left on people to mount legal challenges on the grounds of discrimination, human rights lawyers and activists say. Raymond Chan, city’s only openly gay legislator, calls for public consultation on allowing same-sex unions in Hong Kong

US: Supreme Court nominee, spoke at program founded to inspire a ‘distinctly Christian worldview in every area of law’

Amy Coney Barrett, President Trump’s nominee to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court, publicly grappled decades ago with the tension Catholic judges can face between their religious values and the law. She has since said that she would never bend the law to meet her Catholic faith.

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Lithuania: LGBT rights in Lithuanian elections

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Does the October general elections hold any promise for Lithuania’s LGBTQ community? While some major parties have backslid on issues like legalising same-sex partnership, LGBTQ voters and allies have more choice than in any previous election, argues Simonas Bartulis.

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Germany's historical discrimination against gay soldiers unveiled in new report

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The German defense ministry has published a report outlining the extent of historic discrimination of gay soldiers before 2000. But authorities "cannot right every injustice," the defense minister admitted.

Japan: Pride House Tokyo Legacy to open as Japan's first permanent LGBTQ center

Pride House Tokyo aims to raise awareness of LGBTQ issues through the creation of hospitality spaces, hosting of events, and production of diverse content, while taking advantage of the opportunities available during the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics and Paralympics and working across corporate, individual activists and organizational sectors.

Tunisia: Campaign against hate speech

The signatory organizations also call on the social media platform “Instagram” to respect their community guidelines and standards which reject hate speech inciting to violence based on sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions and sexual characteristics, and to commit to taking the necessary and rapid steps to reduce its negative impact on the platform and in real life.